Colin Flinn

'I never thought that on retirement, I would find myself involved with so many projects or areas of volunteering. Talk about new horizons - I don’t believe I’ve ever been busier!'

'For me in later life, I have the freedom to structure my days to do all the things I wanted to do in earlier years, but did not then have the time to do, such as volunteering for Age NI and other organisations in other areas with the aim of enabling Equality and Human Rights for us all, at any age, and from any section of society.

'As I grow older, my volunteering with Age NI has given me informed and greater insight into ageing issues. I’m still growing, but I hope this is in wisdom too. I hope others are the beneficiaries of my volunteering otherwise there would be little point in doing it.

'Freedom for me to explore the ever shifting opportunities volunteering affords, includes my leisure time as leader of a walking club when I’m climbing hills and mountains regularly in the company of my friends, and enjoying the beauty of the surrounding landscape at the same time.

'Volunteering means you encounter new people all the time and make many new friends, one of the reasons why I love later life!'

'I think it’s really important to embrace opportunities and to not be deterred from giving new things a go.'Read Carita's story